What's up good people, Excited to get back to sharing some music with y'all after a bit of a hiatus. The break was not all for naught though, in the meantime I put together a website for The Collective Record. You can find it here: www.thecollectiverecord.com. As with the newsletters, I hope the site is a place where people I love can find and share music they love. Right now, all of the collective playlists, featured albums, and full newsletters can be found there. Share it with anyone who might want some new music in their life - they can sign up to receive future newsletters there too. I'm dreaming up some fun updates for it, so stayed tuned for more. We've got a great shared playlist started for edition #6. Check it out, and add song or two for the rest of us: The Collective Record #6 A couple TCR regulars have dropped in, as Zack, Ryan, and I recommend a few albums below. The Collective Record Playlist #6 As always it's a Spotify collaborative playlist. Please let me know if you have any questions on how to add! A couple TCR regulars have dropped in, as Zack, Ryan, and I recommend a few albums below. Wishing you some good listening, Matt

For album recs for ya:

Michael Killer Mike Genre: Rap Fresh off the heels of four excellent albums co-starring with El P as the Run the Jewels duo, “Michael” somehow feels like an even bigger accomplishment for the rapper Killer Mike. Production-wise, picture the late-60’s-era backing band at Stax Records (probably Booker T and the MGs) driving down from Memphis to Atlanta and setting up shop in the church where the region’s best southern Baptist choir holds residence. And at the pulpit is Killer Mike, the in-your-face, grizzled, charismatic reverend. But he’s not interested in pushing religious dogma or a political narrative. Instead, he digs deep with every ounce of his soul to speak the messy truth (semi-autobiographically) of what it means to come of age as a Black man in Atlanta. I hesitate to use the term “instant classic” for any recently released album, but would not be surprised in a few years to hear “Michael” mentioned in the same breath as Jay-Z’s “Blueprint” or Chance’s “Coloring Book”. It is a statement record for Killer Mike and essential listening in 2023. - Ryan Tooley

Girl with Fish feeble little horse Genre: Indie Rock I was hooked on Feeble Little House when the intro track on their debut album “Hayday” - beautiful, softly sung, only backed with fingerpicked guitar - smashed right into a wall of distorted sounds and chaotic energy on track two. It was perfect, no notes. Now on their second album, “Girl with Fish”, they’re back with their unique combination of playful sarcasm, catchiness, and punchy noise-rock instrumentation. They play these off each other powerfully - the melodies and repetition of lead singer, Lydia Slocum, give us something to hold on to amid the tension of their sound and the narrative of turbulent romance. Slocum herself puts on an unbothered air. Her dry delivery tries to convince us she’s can't be shook. Then, when the weight is too much, whether for a moment or a few songs, her armor cracks, revealing the hurt and insecurities it had been protecting - “How can you be satisfied / she’s 5 foot 1 and you’re 6 foot 5,” she sings on “Freak” her voice screeching upward on the word five. It’s in these moments where the album really shines for me, the honesty bringing catharsis that is deeply felt in the music. - Matt Kollada

Wait Til I Get Over Durand Jones Genre: Soul Durand Jones’s solo debut, which explores his southern roots in the town of Hilaryville Louisiana, is as personal as it is beautiful. Whether soundtracked to the vocal choirs and organs of a southern Baptist church (Wait til I get Over, I Want You) or memphis blues (Sadie, Lord have Mercy) every song crescendos with Durand Jones’s raspy belting. However, the album’s peaks are found in the tender moments that serve as the best compliment to Durand’s powerful voice: the soft piano intros and outros of Secrets/ Gerry Marie or the layered string arrangements of That Feeling (also Gerry Marie). All in all, Durand Jones has crafted a beautiful piece of work, which following Aaron Frazer’s sublime solo debut, has left me craving a new Durand Jones and the Indications album as both artists continue to create at the peak of their powers. So why should you give this record a listen? Because Wait til I get over is the album you’d most want to hear. - Zack Miller

Maps billy woods, Kenny Segal Genre: Rap A listen to any track on billy woods’ “Maps” immediately reveals him as prolific - it feels unbelievable what he packs into a few lines. Slant rhymes and clever wordplay fly out relentlessly, as profound thoughts combining the philosophical and personal are all of a sudden stacked next to gems like a mouth-watering recipe for pork belly (listen to “Blue Smoke” and tell me it doesn’t sound fire). All of his brilliance is laid over, jerky, static-laden beats from frequent collaborator, Kenny Segal. The production expertly creates an atmosphere, primes the listener, and then gets out of the way to let woods shine. Released in May, this project sees the rapper on the move, examining the moments, the people, the contradictions he comes across on tour. On it, no one’s safe from woods’ piercing gaze, that includes himself, and certainly includes his rich neighbors having him over for dinner and natural wine. woods is a master of looking hard realities square in the eye. “People don't want the truth, they want me to tell 'em grandma went to heaven” he declares on “Babylon by Bus”. This bluntness, combined with his otherworldly talent as a wordsmith, makes “Maps” a thrilling listen. - Matt Kollada

A couple other cool things:

I listened to the first episode of the Radiolab series "Mixtape", recommended by Friend-of-the-Newsletter MJ Brown. The first episode follows the story of western music reaching China in the late 90s via mass dumps of cassettes that were supposed to be recycled. It was a fascinating look at how context, or lack thereof in this case, impacts how we hear music. I recently found out that Bob Dylan did a radio series from 2006 to 2009 called "Theme Time Radio". On each episode he curates a set of songs around a theme like Mothers or Weather. Its archival in a way I really enjoy, and acts as a nice curveball from music I normally listen to.